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Maryland 20 North Carolina 18

myers seals terps? first acc victory

True freshman scores major decision to boost Maryland to .500 in conference play

COLLEGE PARK, Md.- Freshman Spencer Myers shut out Ben Brooks via a 12-0 major decision and the University of Maryland wrestling team countered back-to-back North Carolina pin-falls for a 20-18 win Saturday night at the Comcast Pavilion.

The Terps earned their first conference win of the season after falling to No. 23 Virginia Tech 18-17 on Sunday.

?Our guys are wrestling hard and they?re wrestling tough,? said head coach Kerry McCoy. ?They wrestled with intensity and that is exactly what we need to be doing this time of the year.?

With the score tied 6-6 after North Carolina?s Nick Stabile narrowly defeated Ben Dorsay in overtime at 149 pounds, the Terps won the next three bouts in dominant fashion.

From the 157 to 174-pound matches, Maryland?s trio of No. 13 Kyle John, No. 3 Josh Asper and No. 17 mike Letts earned over nine minutes of combined riding time to shoot Maryland to a 16-6 lead. John and Asper each earned decisions over Corey Mock and Thomas Scotton, respectively, while Letts controlled Andre Petroski in a 14-3 major decision.
North Carolina?s Antonio Giorgio and Zac Bennett followed, however, with consecutive pin-falls over Corey Peltier and Christian Boley to give the Tar Heels the 12-point swing and a two-point lead heading into the final match at heavyweight, pitting true freshmen Myers and Brooks against each other.
With the win on the line and the memories of last week?s tough loss in mind, Myers overpowered Brooks from the opening minutes in the first period. After already leading by four, Myers broke loose in the third with an escape, takedown and three-point near-fall to secure the shutout major decision and the Terps? first win in 2011.
?Before I went out, I had last week?s match in my head,? said Myers, who improved to 9-4 in dual bouts. ?I changed a few things up and got the first takedown. [Today] was pretty big.?